Stand and Deliver
Lou Diamond PhillipsasAngel David Guzman
Based on the work of East Los Angeles mathematics teacher Jaime Escalante, Stand and Deliver follows a class of students expected to fail as they prepare for Advanced Placement calculus. Their achievement is challenged when exam officials question the results, forcing teacher and pupils to demonstrate that high expectations and sustained effort—not misconduct—produced their success.
Stand and Deliver dramatises the story of Jaime Escalante, a mathematics teacher who arrives at James A. Garfield High School in East Los Angeles and refuses to accept the low expectations surrounding its pupils. Beginning with students who openly test his authority, Escalante uses humour, persistence and an escalating workload to build the foundation for algebra and eventually Advanced Placement calculus. The work extends beyond normal lessons into summers, Saturdays and long after-school sessions.
When the class succeeds in the AP examination, their matching errors prompt officials to suspect cheating and invalidate the results. With little time to prepare, the students agree to sit the test again and defend what they have achieved. Directed by Ramón Menéndez and written by Menéndez with Tom Musca, the film grew from a modest American Playhouse production into an enduring classroom drama. Edward James Olmos received an Academy Award nomination for playing Escalante, while the film won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature and was selected for the United States National Film Registry in 2011.
Lou as Angel David Guzman
Lou plays Angel Guzman, a guarded student who initially uses attitude and gang identity to conceal both his intelligence and his interest in learning. His gradual commitment gives the class story one of its clearest personal arcs. Phillips won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male and received a Golden Globe nomination for the performance.
Cast
Additional castExplore 17 more →
Virginia ParisRaquel Ortega
EliotTito (as Mark Eliot)
Adelaida AlvarezSexy Girl
Carmen ArgenzianoMolina
Bodie OlmosFernando Escalante
Vanessa MarquezAna Delgado
Graham GallowayCraig
Daniel VillarrealChuco
Manuel BenitezHeavy Metal Boy
Will GotayPancho Garcia
Ingrid OliuLupe Escobar
Karla MontanaClaudia Camejo
Lydia NicoleRafaela Fuentes
Betty CarvalhoAngel's Grandma
Irene Olga LópezLupe's Mother
James VictorAna's Father
Victor GarronJaime Escalante Jr.
Crew
- Production companies
- American Playhouse, Olmos Productions
- Writer
- Tom Musca
- Original Music Composer
- Craig Safan
- Executive Producer
- Lindsay Law
- Producer
- Tom Musca
- Associate Producer
- Iya Labunka
- Costume Design
- Kathryn Morrison
- Casting
- Jaki Brown
- Casting
- Toni Livingston
- Director
- Ramón Menéndez
41 additional creditsView remaining credits ↓
EditorNancy Richardson
Director of PhotographyTom Richmond
WriterRamón Menéndez
First Assistant DirectorElliot Lewis Rosenblatt
Production CoordinatorVicki Rocco
Production AccountantVicki Rocco
Second Assistant CameraRob Sweeney
First Assistant CameraChris Lombardi
Art DirectionMilo
Production ManagerIya Labunka
Second Assistant DirectorJohn Scherer
GafferShaun Madigan
ElectricianAmy C. Halpern
Hair SupervisorDee Mansano
Makeup & HairVered Hochman
CostumerZeca Seabra
ElectricianMichael R. Thorpe
CostumerYvonne Cervantes
Key GripRuss St. John
Best Boy GripJohn St. John
Boom OperatorBarry Bookin
Makeup SupervisorDee Mansano
Sound MixerStephen Halbert
Property MasterLisa De Alva
Post Production SupervisorNancy Richardson
ADR EditorPeter Foster
Sound Re-Recording MixerMatthew Iadarola
Location ManagerLarry Litton
Assistant Sound EditorMichael Dressel
Script SupervisorSydney Gilner
Negative CutterBarbara Riley
Dialogue EditorStuart Copely
Stunt CoordinatorPerry Husman
Sound Re-Recording MixerWayne Heitman
Sound Effects EditorDuncan Burns
Foley EditorJane Lang
Assistant Art DirectorArlan Jay Vetter
Music EditorKen Johnson
Dialogue EditorFrank Smathers
Music EditorSteve Livingston
Supervising Sound EditorHamilton Sterling